Girl Says Teacher Stared at Her : Court: Trial begins for a Camarillo instructor accused of making sexual comments to students.

A Camarillo High School senior testified Thursday that her drama teacher often stared at her short clothing and once asked her if she “put out.”

William H. Fisher went on trial Thursday on charges that he inappropriately hugged or made sexual comments to eight of his former students. Fisher is charged with eight misdemeanor counts under a state law that makes it a crime to “annoy or molest a child under 18.”

During her opening statement in Ventura County Municipal Court, Deputy Dist. Atty. Kathleen O’Brien told jurors that they would hear the girls testify that Fisher, 42, made sexual innuendoes that “were motivated by an unnatural sexual interest” in children.

But defense attorney George Eskin said defense witnesses would testify that Fisher “complimented them, male and female, on their appearance. He tried to help shy and self-conscious students gain confidence about themselves.”

Eskin said that the evidence will show that no molestation occurred and that Fisher committed no crime.

Fisher has been suspended from his position pending the trial’s outcome. Last June, some of his former students rallied around him at a court hearing, saying they did not believe the charges. Fisher had pleaded guilty to four counts but changed his plea to not guilty after learning that he could be sentenced to jail.

On Thursday, the 17-year-old girl testified that in the spring of 1989 Fisher asked her to step outside a classroom and model her tight black miniskirt for him.

“He goes, ‘Hey, come here, I want to see that outfit on you,’ ” the girl testified. “He told me to turn around a couple times, he said, ‘Yeah, I like that. I like it when you wear tight clothes.’ I felt insulted after he made that comment, so I just turned around and left.”

Fisher watched the girl intently during her testimony. She kept her eyes on O’Brien.

The girl testified that Fisher once led her by the hand to the school’s theater alone. He turned off most of the lights and sat at the back of the darkened theater, asking her to walk around on stage under the spotlights to model the white miniskirt she had worn to school, she said.

Fisher then said he wanted to take her to the beach to see how she looked in a bikini, she testified. He invited her to exercise with him at his house, she told the jury.

“He said, ‘I’d love to take you out some time, but I don’t think that the school administration would approve of student-teacher association,’ ” she said.

Once, the girl testified, Fisher pointed to her miniskirt, tank top and high-heeled boots. “He said that a lot of girls dress provocative, but they don’t put out and he asked me if I did,” she said. “I didn’t say anything.”

The girl said she often “ditched” Fisher’s drama class during the spring of 1989 to avoid being near him. In the fall of 1989, she testified, she was mistakenly enrolled in his class again and tried unsuccessfully to transfer out. During the fall term, she said, Fisher left her alone.

During cross-examination, Eskin asked the girl how a favorable comment about her appearance would insult rather than flatter her.

“Coming from an older man, it’s not a compliment,” the girl said. “It made me feel uncomfortable, but there was nothing I could do because he was my teacher.”

Eskin asked whether she had misinterpreted Fisher. “Wasn’t he trying to warn you that if you dressed that way people might think you were loose?” Eskin asked.

“No, he did not say it that way,” the girl said. “He said, ‘Do you put out?’ ”

The girl and a 15-year-old classmate testified that Fisher showed each of them photographs from an old stage production called “Sweet Travesty,” in which he wore women’s clothing and asked what they thought.

The 15-year-old testified that Fisher promised to help her get modeling work. She said he took her to the school theater and had her try on dresses that he claimed belonged to his girlfriend, including one with a lace top that she was told to wear with no bra.

Each charge carries a maximum penalty of one year in jail and a $1,000 fine. Testimony continues today and is expected to last up to two weeks.

Kirsten Lee Swartz contributed to this story.